The Temple in Which God Reigns....

I’ve always wondered why things happen. Why good people suffer? Why bad people seem to prosper? Why haters of God are allowed to live and continue to curse Him and go unpunished? Then I read 2 Chronicles chapter 7. It doesn’t fully explain the “why”, but it does tell us how believers are to respond to these events when they occur. We are to call upon God during these times. We are to turn from our wicked ways (probably the reason for the calamity). When we repent and become believers in Christ Jesus, our hearts become the Temple in which God reigns, and it is our hearts that are dear to His own heart. This is where we go to Meet with God, His Temple, too pray, interact with, and worship. If we continue to live a life void of His presence, it will only be because of our own rejection of Him. When people see our demise, those closest to Him will know the reason. It will be because of our abandonment of the Lord, in favor of other gods. Idolatry is the #1 sin in America. It can all be avoided by walking daily with the Lord. And it can be forgiven and made right through repentance. The problem is some refuse to go there, then wonder why things happen. So the next time you wonder why things are happening, instead of trying to figure out the answer, go to God in prayer, humble yourself, and if any sin is being practiced in your life, turn from it. Then the answer will come in the form of “opening my eyes, and focusing them back on the Lord”.

11 So Solomon finished the Temple of the Lord, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do in the construction of the Temple and the palace. 12 Then one night the Lord appeared to Solomon and said, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. 13 At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. 14 Then if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 15 My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. 16 For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy–a place where My name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to My heart.17 “As for you, if you faithfully follow Me as David your father did, obeying all My commands, decrees, and regulations, 18 then I will establish the throne of your dynasty. For I made this covenant with your father, David, when I said, ‘One of your descendants will always rule over Israel.’19 “But if you or your descendants abandon Me and disobey the decrees and commands I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, 20 then I will uproot the people from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor My name. I will make it an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. 21 And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?’22 “And the answer will be, ‘Because His people abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to them. That is why He has brought all these disasters on them.’ ” 2 Chronicles 7:11-22